Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 1, NWS Buffalo, NY

May 14, 1987Chautauqua County, Erie County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 14, 1987, 9:21 PM EDT for Chautauqua County, Erie County, New York. It was in force for 99 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 14, 1987, 9:21 PM EDT (01:21 UTC)
Expired
May 14, 1987, 11:00 PM EDT
In force
99 min
Issued by
NWS Buffalo, NY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Chautauqua County, NY, Erie County, NY

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 14, 10:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Chautauqua, NY
May 14, 10:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Erie, NY
May 14, 10:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Erie, NY

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 55 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1987-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 163 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1987-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 110 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
163 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-37 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
110 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
234 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBUF 150121
SVRBUF
NYC013-029-150300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
921 PM EDT THU MAY 14 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND 
SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE 
FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NEW YORK...CHAUTAUQUA AND ERIE
...THIS WARNING ALSO INCLUDES THE ADJACENT LAKE WATERS FOR THE   
COUNTIES JUST MENTIONED

AT 930 PM...BUFFALO WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM ERIE PENNSYLVANIA ACROSS LAKE
ERIE TO THE NIAGARA PENINSULA.  THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING
EAST AT 40 MPH.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANIED BY FREQUENT LIGHTNING
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAY ALSO
CAUSE DRAINAGE FLOODING.
.
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY.
IN HOMES A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM IS THE SAFEST LOCeATION.

ALL MARINE INTERESTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND SMALL BOATS TAKE
SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 14, 8:52 PM EDT, 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
845 PM EDT THU MAY 14 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 94 IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN
   AND PARTS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK INCLUDING THE ADJACENT WATERS OF LAKE
   ONTARIO UNTIL 100AM...

AT 840PM BUFFALO RADAR DETCTED A LINE OF VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS THAT
EXTENDED FROM HAMILTON TO LONG POINT ONTARIO.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE
EMBEDDED IN AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ABOUT 80 MILES WIDE
THAT EXTENDED FROM NORTH OF PETERBOROUGH ONTARIO TO CLEVELAND OHIO.

THE ACTIVITY WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 TO 35 MILES AN HOUR.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANIED BY FREQUENT LIGHTNING...
HAIL...AND STRONGS WINDS.  LISTEN FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

TAN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Buffalo, NY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 14, 9:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFNiagara94 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New York, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.